This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/149,768, filed Jun. 10, 2005 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
A printer may include a print head for imparting ink onto a print medium. One example of a print medium is a sheet of paper. One example of a print head is a thermal ink jet that fires ink drops onto a print medium.
A printer may render an image onto a print medium by imparting ink onto predetermined areas of the print medium. For example, an image rendered by a printer may be represented as an array of pixels. A value associated with a pixel may indicate an amount of ink to be imparted onto an area of the print medium that corresponds to the pixel.
A printer may include a mechanical system for precisely controlling a position of a print head with respect to a print medium. For example, a printer may include an arrangement of rollers, a carriage, pulleys, etc., for precisely controlling a position of an ink jet print head with respect to a sheet of paper. A precise control of a position of a print head with respect to a print medium enables the printer to impart an appropriate amount of ink onto the appropriate areas of the print medium when rendering an image.
A mechanical system for precisely controlling a position of a print head with respect to a print medium may be relatively complex and bulky. Unfortunately, a relatively complex and bulky mechanical system may increase the cost of manufacturing a printer. In addition, a relatively complex and bulky mechanical system may limit the possible form factors of a printer. For example, a bulky mechanical system may impose a lower limit on the size of a printer.